Brooksville May Join Local-Food Turf War between Towns, State Government

Moretto, Mario, Bangor Daily News (Bangor, ME)

BROOKSVILLE, Maine -- Brooksville farmers and food processors
would be exempt from state permitting requirements in selling
directly to consumers if the town approves a proposed local food
ordinance at a March 4 referendum.

At least, that's what proponents say.

The ordinance would exempt "producers and processors" of local
foods in town from state and federal licensure and inspection, so
long as they leave the middleman out and sell their produce, baked
goods, dairy and meat directly to customers.

Hancock County has been fertile soil for the local-food
sovereignty movement. If approved, Brooksville would join the nearby
towns of Sedgwick, Penobscot, Blue Hill and Trenton in passing the
"Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance." Hope,
Plymouth, Livermore and Appleton also have passed similar rules.

But state officials say municipalities can't simply assert local
control by passing ordinances contradicting state law. They say
regardless of a community's push for food sovereignty rules, they'll
continue to enforce state laws on food safety and inspections.

The main goal of the ordinance is to assert local control over
farm products. A similar proposal was rejected in Brooksville in
2011, but supporters are confident they'll prevail this year.

"Brooksville is quite cautious about adopting new ordinances
because normally new ordinances restrict rights," said Deborah
Evans, owner of Bagaduce Farm in Brooksville and one of the
proposal's main proponents. "This ordinance is unique in that it
rolls back rules and regulations."

The first time around, a recommendation against the proposal from
the town's Ordinance Review Committee was attached to the ballot.
Committee Chairwoman Sarah Cox said that was an accident, but many
in Brooksville believe the posting swayed voters against the
measure.

On Thursday, after a public forum on the food rules, the
committee voted not to issue a recommendation one way or the other,
and to "let the people decide," Cox said.

At the public forum, Evans gave a prepared speech in support of
the ordinance, saying the rules would establish Brooksville
residents rights "to choose the foods they raise, prepare, exchange
and eat."

In an interview, Evans said state rules for direct food sales are
onerous for small-scale farmers, who would need to invest a lot of
money to ensure compliance with state rules. She also said the
ordinance recognizes what is already common in Brooksville and
similar towns.

"Under current law, for me to butcher a duck and exchange it with
a neighboring farmer for two laying hens is illegal. That's
something a lot of people don't realize" she said. "Farmers have a
thriving underground. They don't go to the state to ask permission
to butcher a duck, they just do it."

Evans also said that state or federal inspections aren't enough
to ensure food safety. She recalled the 2010 outbreak of salmonella
in DeCoster eggs, which caused a 500 million-egg recall and sickened
2,000 customers. Knowing your source is a much better means to keep
yourself safe, she said.

"Food is safe and healthy when it is raised and handled by people
who exercise quality and have integrity," she said. …

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